Before the days of long liners, wooden 'bully' boats were used in the cod fishery. Most bully boats had two masts, two sails, a jib and a small motor. Bully boats came in a variety of colors and most were given names. Almost every family involved in the fishery owned a bully boat. For example, one Burke family of Tilting owned a bully boat called the 'Gertrude', a Dwyer family owned one called 'Black Beauty' and the Ludlows of Joe Batt's Arm owned a bully called the 'Lucky Strike'.

Bully boats could hold an average of twenty-two quintals of round fish. Most people that fished from a bully used hook and line. Some families built their own boats, or arranged for local boat builders to do the job for them.

When they needed a larger boat, some families worked together to build a schooner. This was the case for the Decker family of Joe Batt's Arm.